Shuttles



F. HAGEN SHUTTLES May 31, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 22, 1963 FIG.

FIG.

May 31, 1966 F. HAGEN 3,253,558

SHUTTLES Filed March 22, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4 2

FIG. 5

FIG. 7

May 31, 1966 F. HAGEN 3,253,558

SHUTTLES Filed March 22, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 9

United States Patent "ice 3,253,558 SHUTTLES Fritz Hagen, 27 Steinaekerstrasse, Lustenau, Austria Filed Mar. 22, 1963, Ser. No. 267,097 Claims priority, application Austria, Mar. 26, 1962,

Y A 2,407/62; Apr. 5, 1962, A 2,790/62 6 Claims. (Cl. 112-95) The invention relates to a shuttle for embroidering machines and quilting machines, or the like.

Up to now, all structural parts of such shuttles are made exclusively of metal, preferably of steel. Apparently, this material was thought to be the only suitable material ful-' filling all requirements as to strength, antifriction properties, and so forth.

An object of this invention is, however, to provide a shuttle having still better properties than the all steel shuttles used hitherto, particularly with respect to smooth and wear-resistant sliding of the shuttles on their sliding tracks (chutes of shuttle boxes). A further object of the invention is to provide a reduction in the production cost of such shuttles as compared to the cost involved in the production of the usual shuttles.

These and further objects and advantages are obtained by this invention by making the casing of the shuttle at least partially of plastic, while the cover of the shuttle is made of metal in known way.

Owing to the ingenious combinations, according to the invention, employing structural parts of the usual design (i.e. the metal cover) with structural parts which are novel as regards the material (thereof i.e. the plastic casing), approved properties of the conventional shuttle construction are preserved by this invention and, moreover, novel effects are added by which the usual design is improved.

Thus, the successful guiding of the thread of the bobbin in the cover of the shuttle remains unaltered, since the cover of the shuttle according to this invention consists as usual of metal, preferably of steel, so that the devices guiding the threads of the bobbins can be retained in the known and approved construction and function.

The construction of the casing of the shuttle of plastic as described in this invention entails a much smoother action of the shuttle so that the disagreeably loud operating noises of shuttle embroidering machines can be considerably reduced. Furthermore, the weight of the shuttle according to this invention is low owing to the use of plastic for the casing; this entails also a reduced friction for the shuttles sliding along the shuttle boxes.

The most important advantage of the construction according to this invention, i.e., the use of plastic for the construction of the casing of the shuttle, while at the same time retaining the metal cover of the shuttle, is the possibility to displace the center of gravity of the shuttle toward its sliding surface to improve the manner in which the shuttle rests on the chute; this guarantees a particularly smooth action of the shuttle and prevents the tip of the shuttle from being removed from the chute, which is very disturbing in operation.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the casing of the shuttle is composed preferably of viscoelastic plastics with part-crystalline structure. The special suitability of such plastics is evident from the fact that their use results in particularly favorable antifriction properties, apparently due to the crystalline structure, and that these plastics also show an especially marked resistance mainly to dynamic stresses, owing to the interaction of the crystalline and amorphous structural zones.

Suitable materials for the casings of shuttles include the following viscoelastic, part-crystalline plastics: polyethylene, particularly low-pressure polyethylene, polyamide, polyacetal resins, isotactic polypropylene, isotactic poly- 3,253,558 Patented May 31, 1966 isobutylene, polytetrafiuoroethylene. All these plastics are thermoplasts and thus are easily machinable.

Plastics (i.e., the preferred part-crystalline plastics) generally exhibit relatively poor hardness as compared'to the usual structural metals, such as steel. Therefore, it is expedient to provide a metallic thread-guiding element at the opening where the thread of the bobbin leaves the interior of the plastic shuttle casing in order to prevent the thread of the bobbin from forming groove-like tracks in the plastic wall of the shuttle casing when the shuttle has been in operation for some time. This can be eifected,by way of example, by providing a metal ring preferably of steel inthe outlet opening in the shuttle casing for the passage of the bobbin thread. Alternatively, it is also possible according to the invention to provide a recess in the side wall of the shuttle casing and to provide at the lateral edge of the cover of the shuttle a thread-guiding element of metal, such as a lug equipped with an aperture, which extends essentially parallel with the lateral wall of the shuttle and is situated, when the cover is closed, within the area of the recess provided in the lateral wall of the box.

The invention is next explained in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawing, but is not restricted to them.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shuttle according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shuttle of FIG. 1, illustrating the cover of the shuttle;

FIG. 3 is a detail on enlarged scale of the lateral wall of the casing of the shuttle in sectional view;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a shuttle according to a second embodiment of the invention, the cover being illustrated in raised position;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the shuttle of FIG. 4, the cover being, however, closed;

FIG. 6 is a plan view on the shuttle of FIG. 5 illustrating the cover thereof;

FIG. 7 is a shuttle in transverse cross-section according to a modified version of the shuttle of FIGS. 4-6;

FIG. 8 is the side view of a shuttle according'to a further embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a side view of one shuttle box of a shuttle embroidering machine with a shuttle moving on the shuttle box.

The shuttle according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a casing 1 of usual form. The material, however, of which the shuttle casing is composed is a plastic.

The cover 2 of the shuttle is of conventional form and consists of steel, as is usual. The cover 2 is pivoted in the casing 1 by means of two pins 3 engaging in recesses at the inner wall of the casing 1. Two bosses 4 having the form of fillets at the inner wall of the casing serve to protect the cover 2 from being opened by chance. When the cover 2 is closed, the fillet-shaped bosses 4 are forced apart owing to the elastic deformability of the plastic composition of the casing 1.

Instead of fillet-shaped bosses, cogs or appropriate means can be provided at the inner wall of the casing 1, to support the cover.

In the cover 2, the slots 5 and 6 are provided for guiding the thread of the bobbin. A laminated spring 7 attached to the cover 2 and kept down by a press pad 8, acts on the thread of the bobbin which is guided in the slots 5 and 6.

The outlet opening 9 for the thread of the bobbin is arranged in the lateral wall of the casing 1 and is provided with a ring 10 of steel.

In this connection, it is important that the ring 10 does not project with any of its parts beyond the outer wall of the casing. As is evident from FIG. 3, the head of the ring is flush with the wall of the casing 1. Moreover, it is advisable to round off or chamfer the edges of the ring at the orifice. To obtain a safe fixation of the ring 10 in the plastic wall of the casing 1, all that is required is a bulge-shaped widening of the ring channel at the end of the ring 10 opposite the ring head. Owing to the relatively easy deformability of the plastic of which the casing is made, a ring of such a shape can be pressed through the opening 9 such that the bulge-shaped widening of the ring channel is engaged in an annular cut-out at the inner side of the wall of the casing.

The shuttle according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 has a casing 1 of conventional form. However, the material of the shuttle is a plastic.

The cover 2 of the shuttle consists as usual of steel. The cover 2 is pivoted in the casing 1 by means of two pins 3 engaging in recesses at the inner wall of the casing 1.

In the cover 2, the slots 5 and 6 are provided for guiding the thread of the bobbin. A laminated spring 7 attached to the cover 2 and kept down by a press pad 8 acts on the thread of the bobbin. which is guided in the slots 5 and 6.

In the lateral wall of the casing 1 a recess 11 (FIG. 4) is provided, said recesshaving a bevel at its upper edge to form a wider opening thereat.

A depending lug 12 extends at right angles from the cover 2. This lug is provided with an outlet opening 13 for the thread of the bobbin. The thread of the bobbin is introduced through a slot 14 which opens into opening 13. This involves a considerable simplification in the operation of the machine.

When the cover is closed (see FIG. 5), the lug 12 is inserted in the recess 11 of the lateral wall of the casing 1, in which it is clamped, when the cover is closed, since the width of the recess 11 is somewhat less than the maximum width of the lug 12. Nevertheless, the lug 12 can be inserted into the recess 11, since on the one hand the material of the casing is relatively easily and elastically deformable and on the other hand the slot 14 contributes to an elastic deformability of the lug 12.

The embodiment represented in FIG. 7 differs from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 merely in that in the recess 11 of the casing 1 an inner neck-shaped projection 15 is provided which covers a part of the slot 14 of the lug 12 and thus prevents the introduced thread of the bobbin from slipping out along the slot 14.

The embodiment of the shuttle represented in FIG. 8, consists essentially again of a casing 1 made of plastic, and a metal cover 2 which is pivoted in the casing 1 by means of the pins 3. The lateral wallof the casing 1 had a recess 11 which accommodates, when the cover is closed, a metal ring 16 attached to the cover 2, which serves to guide the thread of the bobbin when it leaves the interior of the shuttle.

In the region 17 near the tip of the shuttle, the lateral edges 1, of the casing, which are disposed in the same plane, are inclined toward the tip of the shuttle so that the tip of the shuttle has a distance 17' from the plane of the lateral edges 1. The distance 17' can be very small and amount, by way of example, to 0.05-0.07 mm. for a shuttle having a length of 52 mm., the length of the inclined region 17 from the tip to the point of transition into the straight part of the lateral edge 1' being about 5 mm. In the rear part 18 of the shuttle the lateral edges 1' of the casing 1 are broken, e.g., chamfered or rounded off.

As will be evident from FIG. 9, the effect previously mentioned may be explained in detail, i.e., the displacement of the center of gravity brought about by the construction of the shuttle according to the invention:

In shuttle embroidering machines the shuttles slide on inclined Shuttle boxes 19, the chutes 20 of which, respectively, have a groove 21 in the region of the needle aperture 22.

The up and down motion of the shuttles is efiected by the driving device with the aid of the bottom spike 23 and the top spike 24. In shuttles having a conventional metal casing, the center of gravity of the shuttle is situated in the connecting line 26 of the two spikes 23 and 24. If, however, the casing 1 of the shuttle is made of plastic and only the cover is of the usual metal, the center of gravity 25 is shifted toward the chute '20 of the shuttle box and has a distance from the connecting line 26. This displacement of the center of gravity takes place, because the ratio between the specific gravity of plastic (casing) and the specific gravity of steel (cover) is approximately 1:5. In the ordinary shuttle the line of application of the force acting on the shuttle when it is moved, coincides With the connecting line 26 of the two spikes 23, 24. However, since the center of gravity 25 of the shuttle of the invention is not situated in this connecting line 26, a torque results which causes an improvement in the manner in which the shuttle to be urged against the chute 20 of the shuttle box, i.e., particularly at the tip of the shuttle in upward motion of the shuttle and at the rear end of the shuttle in the downward motion of the shuttle; this has also a very favorable effect with respect to a safe catching of the loop of the thread by the shuttle.

Based on FIG. 9, the importance of the inclined portion of the lateral edges of the casing of the shuttle in the area of the shuttle tip and that of the chamfered or rounded-off lateral edges at the rear end of the shuttle (FIG. 8) can be easily understood. The shuttle slides in its up and down motion continuously over the edges of the groove 21. In order to prevent the tip of the shuttle or the rear end of the shuttle from striking against the edges of the groove 21 the slight inclination of the tip 17 of the shuttle is provided together with the broken or rounded-off outer edge of the casing in the rear part 18 of the shuttle.

The invention is by no means limited to a definite size of shuttle. Moreover, the construction shown of the disclosed embodiments and material is not to be taken as restrictive.

The casing of plastic can be manufactured by using various knoiwn plastic processing methods, such as injection molding and the like.

What I claim is:

1. In an embroidering machine: a shuttle comprising a shuttle casing having a cavity for the accommodation of a bobbin, said casing having a fiat upper surface, said cavity opening into said surface, and a cover connected to the casing for closing the cavity therein; a shuttle box including an inclined chute supporting the casing with said fiat surface of said casing slidable on said chute, means for sliding said shuttle in opposite directions along said inclined chute, the latter said means including a top spike and a bottom spike engaging the casing of the shuttle at distinct locations lying in a plane substantially parallel to the chute, said cover being constituted of metal, said casing being constituted of plastic material having substantially less specific gravity than that of the metal of said cover to shift the center of gravity of the shuttle towards the cover.

2. In-a machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said casing has an opening, the casing comprising a metallic member inserted in elastic engagement in said opening, said metallic member in turn having an opening through which thread from the bobbin may pass.

3. A shuttle comprising a casing, a cover pivotally supported on said casing, said casing being constituted of elastically deformable plastic material, said cover being constituted of metal, said cover having guide slots for the passage of thread from a bobbin, said casing having an opening for the outlet of said thread, and a metallic member insertable in elastic engagement in said opening and having in turn an opening through which the thread is constrained to pass, said metallic member being connected to said cover and being inserted into the opening in the casing when said casing is closed, and being withdrawn from said opening in the casing when the casing is opened, said metallic member having a slot extending into said opening therein, said member having an edge remote from said cover which is the first to enter said opening in the casing, said slot extending into said edge, said casing including a projection extending partially into the opening thereof to cover the edge of the metallic member into which the slot extends when the casing is closed.

4. A shuttle comprising a casing, a cover pivotally supported on said casing, said casing being constituted of elastically deformable plastic material, said cover being constituted of metal, said cover having guide slots for the passage of thread from a bobbin, said casing having an opening for the outlet of said thread, and a metallic member in elastic engagement in said opening and having in turn an opening through which the thread is constrained to pass, said casing having a specific gravity in a ratio of about 1:5 relative to that of the cover to shift the center of gravity of the shuttle towards the cover.

5. A shuttle as claimed in claim 4 wherein said metallic member is a ring engaged in the opening of the casing.

6. A shuttle as claimed in claim 5 wherein the ring has opposite ends which are flush with said casing such that said casing has smooth continuous surfaces.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 112,480 3/1871 Moore 112-234 125,956 4/1872 Hockensmith 112233 775,362 11/1904 Dodge 112234 933,062 9/1909 Cochran 112-234 1,383,484 7/1921 Reiner 112--234 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

20 R. J. SCANLAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN EMBROIDERING MACHINE: A SHUTTLE COMPRISING A SHUTTLE CASING HAVING A CAVITY FOR THE ACCOMMODATION OF A BOBBIN, SAID CASING HAVING A FLAT UPPER SURFACE, SAID CAVITY OPENING INTO SAID SURFACE, AND A COVER CONNECTED TO THE CASING FOR CLOSING THE CAVITY THEREIN; A SHUTTLE BOX INCLUDING AN INCLINED CHUTE SUPPORTING THE CASING WITH SAID FLAT SURFACE OF SAID CASING SLIABLE ON SAID CHUTE, MEANS FOR SLIDING SAID SHUTTLE IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS ALONG SAID INCLINED CHUTE, THE LATTER SAID MEANS INCLUDING A TOP SPIKE AND A BOTTOM SPIKE ENGAGING THE CASING OF THE SHUTTLE AT DISTINCT LOCATIONS LYING IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE CHUTE, SAID COVER BEING CONSTITUTED OF METAL, SAID CASING BEING CONSTITUTED OF PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS SPECIFIC GRAVITY THAN THAT OF THE METAL OF SAID COVER TO SHIFT THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF THE SHUTTLE TOWARDS THE COVER 